If you have decided to switch from Dropbox to Box as your cloud file-management solution, it can be a tedious and time-consuming effort. There are a lot of key factors that you would need to consider in order to make the transition as smooth as possible. To learn more, scroll down to part 1.

Steps

Part 1

Setting Up the Folder Structure in Box

1

Go to the All Files page. Notice the header menu at the top of the main page of Box. Locate the third icon from the left with the folder icon. Click on this to go to the All Files page. This is your main page for all your Box folders and files.

2

Go to the folder level. If you already have existing folders, navigate through all your folders and sub-folders until you reach the level where you want to create the new folder.

Navigation can be done by clicking on the folder names.

3

Create a new folder. Once you’re on the right location, create a new folder. Click on the “New” button found on the All Files page header menu, and select “New Folder” from the pop-up.

4

Name the new folder. In the Create New Folder window, type in the folder name in the appropriate field.

5

Set collaboration type. Under the Collaboration radio buttons, determine if the folder will be for your own personal use or for collaboration and sharing.

If it’s for personal use, tick “Keep private for now.”

If it’s for collaboration, tick “Invite people to upload or download files” and then list the names or e-mail addresses of all collaborators.

Since you’re technically starting over, it would be a good time to organize your files and folders directory. Visualize how you would like your Box to look like, and create the necessary folders to follow that vision.

Part 2

Reviewing Folders Security Settings

1

Browse all folders. If you’ve gone through part 1 quickly and didn’t really have the time to validate the collaboration settings of your folders, do it now. In step 5 of part 1, the collaboration type was set for each folder. This needs to be reviewed to ensure all folders that will require collaboration are properly set and shared.

2

View folder properties. Click on a folder name to enter it. Once inside, locate the header menu and click on “More.” Select “Properties,” then “Security.” The Folder Properties with the Security tab opened will be launched.

3

Set Restrictions. The first security setting allows you to define who can invite collaborators and who can view the collaborators.

Tick the first option if you will only allow the folder owners to extend share invites.

Tick the second option if you want all collaborators to remain anonymous to each other.

4

Set Membership. The second security setting defines the access level or membership of people who has the share link. If this option is enabled, anyone who has the share link can access the folder, even if they aren’t collaborators or even Box users.

5

Set Shared Links. The third and last security setting sets how the access via shared links will work. If the “Restriction within collaborators only” is set, only those set as collaborators for the folder can access the folder. Anyone who is not a collaborator cannot access it, even if he has the shared links.

6

Save folder security settings. Once done, click on the “Save” button.

Repeat part 2 for all the folders, especially those that will need sharing access.

Part 3

Uploading Files and Folders

1

Download Dropbox files and folders. If you don’t have Dropbox locally available on your computer, you will need to individually download everything from Dropbox. Store them locally into their organized and proper folder structure for easier reference and retrieval.

2

Upload in batches. Go to each of the folders and sub-folders you’ve created in part 1. Upload all the relevant files to the proper folder. Uploading can be done by selecting the files and dragging them to the browser with the proper Box folder location already opened.

Each upload will have its respective progress or status bar for your reference.

Once you’re done with one folder, move on to the next until you’ve uploaded everything.

3

Upload everything at once. If you don’t like the idea of working and uploading in batches, you can upload everything at once to a temporary Box folder. Go to the main All Files page in Box and create a new temporary folder.

Open the temporary folder.

Select all the files you’re uploading and drag them to the browser with the temporary folder opened.

Wait for the upload to finish. Since there are a lot of files, uploading may take some time.

Skip this step if you’ve already uploaded everything from step 2.

4

Move files to proper folders. Skip this step if you’ve already uploaded everything from step 2 in their proper locations; otherwise, proceed with reorganizing your files into their proper folders.

From step 3, since you’ve just put everything in one place, you have to go through all the files one by one and move them to their proper folders.

Select a file and click on the paper icon from the action menu. The Move/Copy Selected Item window will appear.

Type in the folder name or navigate through your folders until you find the proper destination folder.

Select the folder and click the “Move” button.

Repeat this step for all your files.

Part 4

Granting Access to Shared Folders

1

Go to the All Files page. From the main page, notice the header menu at the top. Locate the third icon from the left with the folder icon. Click on this to go to the All Files page. This is your main page for all your Box folders and files.

2

Go to the folder level. Navigate through all your folders and sub-folders until you reach the folder you want to share.

Navigation can be done by clicking on the folder names.

3

Set Collaborators. From the header menu, find the “More” button and click on it. Select “Share,” then “Invite Collaborators.” The Invite window will appear. Under the Invite section, type in the names or e-mail addresses of the people you’d like to share this folder with.

Note that the people you invite will need Box accounts in order to be collaborators.

4

Set Permissions. Once you’ve listed the collaborators, set the permission level or access type for these people in the folder. Access levels can be as Co-owner, Editor, Viewer Uploader, Previewer Uploader, Viewer, Previewer, or Uploader.

5

Add a message. You may include a message to the recipients informing them about their roles as collaborators and other relevant notes you’d like to include.

6

Grant accesses. Once you’re done, click on the “Send” button to grant the collaborators the proper accesses. Be sure to include everyone from your Dropbox collaborators so that the transition will be smooth.